During the Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios didn’t unveil new artwork for The Fantastic Four, but they did announce the upcoming reboot’s intriguing new title: The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Rumors suggest we’ll meet Franklin and Valeria Richards in the movie, possibly the “first steps” the title refers to. Though filming is confirmed to start on Tuesday, fans were treated to early test footage showing the heroes prepping for a space mission. One notable scene features Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards teaching a science class with an “old-school accent.”
Set in an alternate reality New York City in a retro/future 1960s, The Fantastic Four: First Steps aims to blend classic and futuristic elements. The teaser also showcased a comic-accurate Galactus peering through a skyscraper window, far from the cloud form seen in 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
The four lead actors made brief comments about the movie, and it was confirmed that Michael Giacchino will score the film. Fans were thrilled when the Fantasticar took flight in Hall H, with the video below capturing the excitement. The footage suggests that The Fantastic Four: First Steps is shaping up to feel like a Jack Kirby comic come to life, especially with its striking skyline.
Marvel Studios has confirmed that the Fantastic Four will appear in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, indicating they won’t stay in their alternate timeline for long.
Comic-Con Footage
Today feels like a blast from the past with early pre-production footage of the Fantastic Four reboot making waves on social media. While we can’t share the footage directly, you can find it on r/LeaksAndRumors.
The clips reveal Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, complete with iconic grey temples, explaining parallel dimensions to a group of kids. We also get glimpses of the team in their blue spacesuits before they gain their superpowers, the Fantasticar soaring through New York City, the Baxter Building, and a shadowy shot of The Thing on a game show.
One of the most thrilling moments shows Marvel’s First Family blasting into space, followed by a comic-accurate Galactus peering into the window of a skyscraper, presumably the team’s base.
Disney is swiftly taking down the footage, but eager fans can still track it down on Reddit and X.
Not an origin story
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Matt Shakman, director of “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” shared why this film will not include yet another origin story.
“One of the things we decided early on was not to do an origin story,” Shakman explained. “We’re not telling the story of them going up and being changed. There’s a lot of well-known narrative that leads into that moment.”
Shakman further elaborated, “Starting basically at the end of the first act, you’re making up your new story. We thought, ‘Let’s just start this thing off on a completely new foot. So we are beginning after that.’”
He also mentioned that he hasn’t watched any of the previous Fantastic Four movies, emphasizing, “We’re really just making our own specific thing. This is no discredit to those movies. But we’re telling our own very specific story. Like any great play, you can cast it with different people, and it’s the same play, but a completely different experience.”
Cast
Marvel Studios has announced the lead cast for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Pedro Pascal will play Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby will portray Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn will take on the role of Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach will be Ben Grimm/The Thing. Julia Garner has also joined the reboot as Shalla-Bal/Silver Surfer.
Recent additions to the cast include Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, and Natasha Lyonne in undisclosed roles, with Ralph Ineson confirmed as the villainous Galactus.
Director Matt Shakman collaborated with Avatar: The Way of Water co-writer Josh Friedman and WandaVision’s Cam Squires on the screenplay for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Eric Pearson (Black Widow) recently joined the team for a final polish.
The movie is set to be released in theatres on July 25, 2025.
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